I don't know if Gregg has heard them or not, but I somehow doubt he is making it up. I would say your impressions of the MBL speakers will be based on where you heard them and how well the system was set up. As I said before, I heard them at the RMAF with an all MBL set up and I couldn't wait to get out of the room which I found very disappointing. But, I didn't write them off because of that because I know they couldn't have been set up optimally in that hotel room. I think they needed more room to breathe and others including you don't seem to like the MBL electronics.
The rap on the MBL speakers is that they are inefficient and needs lots of SS watts and current to drive them correctly. You have contradicted those thoughts by saying that your VAC tubes drive them with great results. Too bad we live so far apart because I would love to hear your system.
Gregg hasn't heard them, just look at his response. I didn't see any 101E speakers in the pics did you?
It gets tiresome reading such misleading crap.
I have heard MBL's 101E's driven by numerous gear, here's a pic of a guy driving them with MasterSound 300B's and is very happy indeed.
Speakers: MBL 101E Radialstrahler
Amplifiers: Mastersound 300B Special Edition Monoblocks
Amplifiers: Mastersound 300B Monoblocks
Preamplifier: Kondo Audio Note Japan KSL-M7